Is energy in the universe unlimited?

[nonameo]

I know matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but let's say the amount of energy in the universe is unlimited. It's already there, just unlimited. Is this even possible?

 

[Eli]

No, it's not.

There was a finite amount of energy released during the big bang.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

No. The Universe is probably finite.

 

[RichardE]

Depends which theory you believe. Easy answer, no. Long answer, /shrug (My physics teacher mindfucked us with this a few weeks ago )

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13
No. The Universe is probably finite.

Theoretically speaking, this is true....however, realistically...IF the theory is true, whatever energy that is in the universe is more than we could imagine.

 

[Bignate603]

The short answer? No, it's not possible. There is only a finite amount of energy in the universe, stored in molecular bonds, the matter itself, or in some other form (potential, thermal, etc). You could add up 100% of all this possible energy and come up with a huge number, but it would not be infinite.

 

[badkarma1399]

Current theories point to no...but realistically, we have no f'n clue.

 

[Eli]

Doesn't just the mere idea of "infinite energy" break some law of thermodynamics? lol

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Unless the universe is infinite in extent then an infinite amount of energy would result in an infinitely dense energy distribution. So we could try to disprove the hypothesis by proving that the universe is not infinite in extent. Currently the data suggests that this is the case but nothing is certain right now.

Edit - I should add that it's quite clear there is not an infinite energy distribution.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Eli
Doesn't just the mere idea of "infinite energy" break some law of thermodynamics? lol

not necessarily. it's simply that you can't get something from nothing, and you can never get more than 100% efficiency.

if the universe is infinitely large, it has an infinite amount of energy.

*however* our ability to use that energy is not infinite. hence why all waste forms of energy are turned to heat - it is the least useful, most entropic/disordered type of energy. when we run out of useful energy, the universe will suffer "heat death" - the inability to harvest any useful amounts of energy.

that's how it is if my understanding of thermo is correct.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: Eli
Doesn't just the mere idea of "infinite energy" break some law of thermodynamics? lol

not necessarily. it's simply that you can't get something from nothing, and you can never get more than 100% efficiency.

if the universe is infinitely large, it has an infinite amount of energy.

*however* our ability to use that energy is not infinite. hence why all waste forms of energy are turned to heat - it is the least useful, most entropic/disordered type of energy. when we run out of useful energy, the universe will suffer "heat death" - the inability to harvest any useful amounts of energy.

that's how it is if my understanding of thermo is correct.

We won't run out of useful energy for billions of years.

There are two scenarios.

1. The Universe expands so much that matter is too scattered to form stars to create heat. If we survive to that point, we'll probably end up crowding around black holes to use the minuscule amounts of energy they emit.

Or

2. The Universe contracts and we all die a fiery death as every atom of matter is fused together into a singularity.

 

[Auric]

'Tis a matter of scale as most things. Ergo, it is finite but for our purposes it is infinite (we will be long gone afore it matters).

 

[Kadarin]

You DARE to put limits on God? The baby Jesus will smite you for creating this silly thread.

 

[destrekor]

Since matter is neither created nor destroyed in any conversions... don't we theoretically have access to unlimited energy? If we devise enough different methods to capture energy, can't we theoretically continue to capture the same amount of matter and shuffle it around to use as various forms of energy?
Energy through water is one form: water as a material force has infinite amounts of energy... just continue throwing water at turbines.

Unless... I'm looking at 'energy' in the wrong terms.
How do we define energy in this thread, and in general?
Because I'd imagine all matter has energy potential, just how it's captured is another question.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: Eli
Doesn't just the mere idea of "infinite energy" break some law of thermodynamics? lol

not necessarily. it's simply that you can't get something from nothing, and you can never get more than 100% efficiency.

if the universe is infinitely large, it has an infinite amount of energy.

*however* our ability to use that energy is not infinite. hence why all waste forms of energy are turned to heat - it is the least useful, most entropic/disordered type of energy. when we run out of useful energy, the universe will suffer "heat death" - the inability to harvest any useful amounts of energy.

that's how it is if my understanding of thermo is correct.

We won't run out of useful energy for billions of years.

There are two scenarios.

1. The Universe expands so much that matter is too scattered to form stars to create heat. If we survive to that point, we'll probably end up crowding around black holes to use the minuscule amounts of energy they emit.

Or

2. The Universe contracts and we all die a fiery death as every atom of matter is fused together into a singularity.

i'm not speaking practically - of course we couldn't possibly exhaust the energy in the universe any time soon. the point still stands, however, that since the universe tends towards chaos, heat death is theoretically possible.

 

[Evadman]

Heat death of the universe is that way -->

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: destrekor
Since matter is neither created nor destroyed in any conversions... don't we theoretically have access to unlimited energy? If we devise enough different methods to capture energy, can't we theoretically continue to capture the same amount of matter and shuffle it around to use as various forms of energy?
Energy through water is one form: water as a material force has infinite amounts of energy... just continue throwing water at turbines.

Unless... I'm looking at 'energy' in the wrong terms.
How do we define energy in this thread, and in general?
Because I'd imagine all matter has energy potential, just how it's captured is another question.

Energy is simply a system's ability to do work. The more we interact with a system, the greater the overall entropy. Basically this means that eventually we run out of "useable" energy. But not really in practical terms.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: destrekor
Since matter is neither created nor destroyed in any conversions... don't we theoretically have access to unlimited energy? If we devise enough different methods to capture energy, can't we theoretically continue to capture the same amount of matter and shuffle it around to use as various forms of energy?
Energy through water is one form: water as a material force has infinite amounts of energy... just continue throwing water at turbines.

Unless... I'm looking at 'energy' in the wrong terms.
How do we define energy in this thread, and in general?
Because I'd imagine all matter has energy potential, just how it's captured is another question.

Perhaps the usefulness of the finite energy is the query. That is, is the conversion process and/or resultant products useful for our purposes? Generally, 'tain't since we fail to comprehend how to harness it -for instance with fusion.